It is very helpful, in my experience, and has helped me through a few rough patches myself.

Write this down, though, show it to him, and tuck it under his pillow in the hospital. It is said that those who know the name of the Medicine Buddha need only wish to be healed, and their wish will be granted. This is not to say that one should do this in place of modern medicine, or in place of Christian prayers, but rather as an "extra".

Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata

Om Bhaishagje, Bhaishagje, Bhaishagja, Samudgate Swaha

Since before the time of Moses, the Medicine Buddha has been helping free people of the causes of premature death. He is not a god of any sort. More of a Buddhist angel, who took specific vows to help people many eons ago.

Our prayers are also with you and yours and with your Dad as he travels down this road.

Trust in God our Father and ask HIM to give to each of HIS children all that they need for their appointed tasks here on earth. Trust also that the teams that they have assembled in St. John, do know what they are doing... for they surely do. They are part of God's plan for all of us, and He gives each of them the skills needed to do what must be.

I keep reminding myself all the time of one of my favourite passages from the Bible:

Numbers 6:22-26

May The Lord Bless you and keep you!
May The Lord make HIS face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you;
May, The Lord lift HIS countenance upon you, and give you Peace (+).

It is very helpful, in my experience, and has helped me through a few rough patches myself.

Write this down, though, show it to him, and tuck it under his pillow in the hospital. It is said that those who know the name of the Medicine Buddha need only wish to be healed, and their wish will be granted. This is not to say that one should do this in place of modern medicine, or in place of Christian prayers, but rather as an "extra".

Medicine Buddha Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata

Om Bhaishagje, Bhaishagje, Bhaishagja, Samudgate Swaha

Since before the time of Moses, the Medicine Buddha has been helping free people of the causes of premature death. He is not a god of any sort. More of a Buddhist angel, who took specific vows to help people many eons ago.

May all beings find peace,

Namaste,

--Tom

Hi Tom,

I will write that down, and place it under his pillow. Thank's!!!

Rudi wrote:Brett:

Our prayers are also with you and yours and with your Dad as he travels down this road.

Trust in God our Father and ask HIM to give to each of HIS children all that they need for their appointed tasks here on earth. Trust also that the teams that they have assembled in St. John, do know what they are doing... for they surely do. They are part of God's plan for all of us, and He gives each of them the skills needed to do what must be.

I keep reminding myself all the time of one of my favourite passages from the Bible:

Numbers 6:22-26

May The Lord Bless you and keep you!May The Lord make HIS face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you;May, The Lord lift HIS countenance upon you, and give you Peace (+).

Rudi,

Thank's for the prayers and support! I will keep everyone updated. As of right now, they are having a hard time getting blood, but thursday is when the operation will take place.

Tomorrow at 1:00pm is the operation, they checked the condition of his heart Today, and there was no more damage done since the last time he was checked out. I will update you all after the surgery. Thank's

While one can look at this as an unfortunate situation, the bright side is that a bypass is possible.

When my mother had her series of heart attacks (which were painless -- we were treating her for pneumonia at the time) in 2001, by the time she had cardiology testing done, the damage to her heart was very severe. Additionally, 3 out of 4 of the major coronary arteries were completely blocked, and the last one was blocked in excess of 90%. The doctors called me aside before mom was even completely awake, and explained the whole thing to me. She didn't have a single healthy place to graft from. No bypass was possible. A heart transplant would have been the treatment of choice, but she was a diabetic, which automatically disqualifies you from the transplant candidacy.

They told me that a mere 5 years before that, this would have been a death sentence, but that advances in medication had come so far, that they could offer some hope of at least some improvement. So, that's the way it went.

2 years later, and she was the subject of a case-study for the drug "coreg", because her heart function, once below 15% (considered moribund) at the time of her hospitalization, had returned to the "normal" range of 85% (better than mine).

Mom is alive, and feeling better than she has in 10 years. They installed a defibulator/pacer, to act as a "watchdog", to prevent "sudden cardiac death", in the event she should develop a lethal arythmia, which has never had to function so far. It is better, though, to have the watchdog, and not need it, than to need it, and not have it.

Additionally, her heart, which had enlarged to 3X its normal size during the height of her disease, is approximately normal sized now.

Cardiology has come a long way in the last 10 years. What I found to be most important in Mom's recovery, however, was to be pro-active about things, ask all the questions you need to, and not be afraid to voice your concerns. Sometimes you do think of things that the doctors have overlooked, which can be important. If the doctor changes a medication, make sure you know the reason why, and make sure that he does as well.

I will note that mom did take a mild stroke this summer after her doctors decided to take her off of one of her blood thinners against my recommendations. They did apologize to me later, and thankfully, she recovered completely, but the apology would have been meaningless if she had not.

While it is not possible for you to become a cardiologist overnight, you can, however, become an expert on your father's particular condition, symptoms, and medications. Doing this will help him understand what is going on better, and be less afraid of his disease as well.

The human respiratory and circulatory system are much simpler to understand than the governor of a farmall cub.

I mean all of this, Brett, in the spirit of empowerment, and encouragement. With prayers, good wishes, and a little luck, your father will come through this just fine. But that, unfortunately is only half the battle of recovering from severe heart disease.

Keep us posted. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. The teams are good.. if they say it will be okay, it will. Trust them. I did, and I am still here. We are fortunate in that we have some of the very best and I mean very best Heart Specialists in North America in St. John.

Cowboy (his real name escapes me) and Dr. Brown are 2 of the top flight surgeons that I know of, and there is a little anesthesiologist that is awesome as well. The nurses in CCICU, Step-Down, and CCU are top flight... the best in the country. He is in good hands.

While one can look at this as an unfortunate situation, the bright side is that a bypass is possible.

When my mother had her series of heart attacks (which were painless -- we were treating her for pneumonia at the time) in 2001, by the time she had cardiology testing done, the damage to her heart was very severe. Additionally, 3 out of 4 of the major coronary arteries were completely blocked, and the last one was blocked in excess of 90%. The doctors called me aside before mom was even completely awake, and explained the whole thing to me. She didn't have a single healthy place to graft from. No bypass was possible. A heart transplant would have been the treatment of choice, but she was a diabetic, which automatically disqualifies you from the transplant candidacy.

They told me that a mere 5 years before that, this would have been a death sentence, but that advances in medication had come so far, that they could offer some hope of at least some improvement. So, that's the way it went.

2 years later, and she was the subject of a case-study for the drug "coreg", because her heart function, once below 15% (considered moribund) at the time of her hospitalization, had returned to the "normal" range of 85% (better than mine).

Mom is alive, and feeling better than she has in 10 years. They installed a defibulator/pacer, to act as a "watchdog", to prevent "sudden cardiac death", in the event she should develop a lethal arythmia, which has never had to function so far. It is better, though, to have the watchdog, and not need it, than to need it, and not have it.

Additionally, her heart, which had enlarged to 3X its normal size during the height of her disease, is approximately normal sized now.

Cardiology has come a long way in the last 10 years. What I found to be most important in Mom's recovery, however, was to be pro-active about things, ask all the questions you need to, and not be afraid to voice your concerns. Sometimes you do think of things that the doctors have overlooked, which can be important. If the doctor changes a medication, make sure you know the reason why, and make sure that he does as well.

I will note that mom did take a mild stroke this summer after her doctors decided to take her off of one of her blood thinners against my recommendations. They did apologize to me later, and thankfully, she recovered completely, but the apology would have been meaningless if she had not.

While it is not possible for you to become a cardiologist overnight, you can, however, become an expert on your father's particular condition, symptoms, and medications. Doing this will help him understand what is going on better, and be less afraid of his disease as well.

The human respiratory and circulatory system are much simpler to understand than the governor of a farmall cub.

I mean all of this, Brett, in the spirit of empowerment, and encouragement. With prayers, good wishes, and a little luck, your father will come through this just fine. But that, unfortunately is only half the battle of recovering from severe heart disease.

Namaste,

--Tom

Tom,

Im glad your Mother is doing better, Wow she has been through alot! Truly a miracle! The road to recovery will be long and hard, they say he will be laid up for three month's. He cant lift any more than five pound's, and will need help getting in and out of bed.

Rudi wrote:Brett:

Keep us posted. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. The teams are good.. if they say it will be okay, it will. Trust them. I did, and I am still here. We are fortunate in that we have some of the very best and I mean very best Heart Specialists in North America in St. John.

Cowboy (his real name escapes me) and Dr. Brown are 2 of the top flight surgeons that I know of, and there is a little anesthesiologist that is awesome as well. The nurses in CCICU, Step-Down, and CCU are top flight... the best in the country. He is in good hands.